An immigrant’s plea for reform

Dennis Hjort is CEO of IceTech America, based in West Chester Township.

Moving from Denmark to Butler County in the early spring of 2006 was a difficult transition. My wife and I uprooted our two young children and left family and friends.

However, we moved for an excellent opportunity. The Danish firm I work for, IceTech International, a world leader in manufacturing high performance dry ice blasting and dry ice production, asked me to head to the U.S. to establish a new North American office. The technology we sell is used to clean off surface contamination and deposits without leaving any secondary waste materials behind on industrial production equipment.

We have found great success in this market. In fact, we have grown every year, even through the years of the recent recession. In 2012, we expanded to a state-of-the-art facility to give us room to hire more employees. IceTech now has 10 in the area (all Americans except for myself). We also contribute about 75 indirect jobs to the U.S.

Unfortunately, despite helping to grow jobs here in the U.S., it looks as if my family and I may have to return to Denmark. Our visas are set to expire soon. My company has spent vast sums helping us navigate the arcane immigration process here. We’re hoping for the best, but there are no guarantees.

IceTech’s leadership in Denmark is frustrated with the situation, and is considering moving North American operations to Canada, where there’s a more sensible system for job-creating immigrants.

The American system makes it easy to come, but hard to stay. We have assimilated quite well to U.S. culture and want to be citizens. My children have more in common with Americans than Danes.

I know that the situation my firm and my family finds itself is not unique. A 2012 study by the Partnership for a New American Economy “Not Coming to America” report shows that just 7 percent of U.S. visas are allocated for employment reasons, while in other countries it’s as much as 50 percent.

Even if we are unable to resolve our predicament, I hope for the sake of the country I love that leaders in Washington pass immigration reform, so the American economy remains competitive. ■